Rider baseball team welcomes newest member, 10-year-old Raymond Key

LAWRENCEVILLE — Flanked by several members of the Rider University baseball team and coach Barry Davis, Raymond Key put on his new ballcap and smiled from ear to ear.

Key, a 10-year-old from Bristol, Pa., was drafted by the Broncs after the school paired up with Team IMPACT, a non-profit organization chartered to improve quality of life for children facing life-threatening illnesses.

In January 2011, Key was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), the most common form of leukemia found in children. He is undergoing treatment at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — more commonly known as CHOP.

“This is a great opportunity for Raymond,” said his mother, Patty, who first made the connection with Team IMPACT while Raymond was at CHOP receiving treatment. “I love that this gives him something else to think about other than the treatment and being sick. He has something to look forward to in games.”

Davis said the decision to bring Raymond into the Rider family was an easy one to make when he was approached about the opportunity.

There are four things Davis looks for in a player: Love of the game, great character, toughness and handling adversity.

There was no debate that young Raymond met all four.

“Some of our guys aren’t as tough as him,” Davis said. “Some of the guys on our team haven’t had to deal with the kind of things he’s had to deal with. He’s going to teach us, just as much as we’re going to teach him.”

Raymond was joined at Rider’s Daly Dining Hall for the draft by his mother, father, also Raymond, sister Dominique, 16, brother David, 4, grandparents and little league coach Jose Rosado.

“I was kind of nervous at first,” Raymond admitted. “Once I saw everybody was here, it was relaxing to know they were here to support me.”

This was just the second meeting Raymond has had with the squad. He already got to know the six Broncs — Mike Murphy, Tim Hogan, Ian Lindsay, Chris LeRoy, Eric Thomas and Brain Donnelly — that are part of a leadership team.

But he’s already started texting back and forth with them and showing them how good he is on the Xbox.

“Anytime a kid goes through adversity, it’s an emotional thing,” said Thomas, a sophomore pitcher from Dallastown, Pa. “You realize that baseball isn’t everything. By doing that, it relaxes us and winning games doesn’t become the priority. Hopefully, that continues, but we realize that things beside baseball are important. By having that relaxed attitude, we hope that winning a championship will follow.”

Raymond already has his own locker with his name on it. On his team in the Bristol Borough Little League, he is a pitcher and first baseman so Thomas knows Raymond will be watching him closely.

“It brings some youth to the team,” Thomas said to a response of laughter when asked how it felt to have Raymond officially on the club. “He’s a very good kid. A nice kid. He’s going to help us stay relaxed when games get tough because there are things tougher than playing baseball.”

The team will wear orange wristbands this season with Raymond’s name on it. Orange is the designated color for leukemia support.

“I’m actually moved by the love and support he’s getting,” his father said. “I think it’s going to be really good for him. These guys talk about having character, and I think that it’s not going to reflect just from him to them, but also from them to him.”

At the end of the night, Raymond stood with his new teammates. His Rider jersey was the perfect fit, matching the cap on his head.